Jacob Mallard (Earth-7045)
This article refers to the first Steeplejack. For his successor, see Maxwell Plumm. Jake Mallard was a construction worker whose brothers died on the job because of an accident involving faulty equipment purchased by their corrupt contractor, Maxwell Plumm. Desiring vengeance for his brothers after finding out about Plumm, Jake became Steeplejack to strike back at him for their deaths. However, Jake would die fighting Luke Cage before falling high off an unfinished building because of a bad quality girder, dying similarly to his brothers. Mallard was a rough, working class guy. He obviously did not trust the system and preferred to get things done himself. He may have been a criminal - or he may just have been a blue collar inventor with serious anger control issues. He greatly (and quite justifiably) trusted his physical might and weaponry. History Jake Mallard and his two brothers, Brian & Will, were construction workers in New York City, employed by contractor Maxwell Plumm. They were unaware of Plumm's business practices, which included bad quality construction gear and budget cuts in security, so that he could earn more money. Due to those practices, Jake's brothers both died in a fall due to a sudden wind slipping the cable of a girder. Jake noticed the sub-standard materials and the security practices and swore he would have his revenge on Plumm. He then created a custom identity for himself, the Steeplejack, and designed weaponry basing on specialized construction tools. He first attacked Plumm in his own construction building. He tried to throw him to his death. However, one of the nearby bystanders was superhero Luke Cage, who considered Steeplejack a villain and proceeded to fight him. When Steeplejack finally threw Plumm from the building, Cage stopped the fight to save him. Plumm recognized Cage and hired him as a bodyguard. Steeplejack returned that night to perform a sabotage in the building, wanting to make it collapse. However, Cage was performing watching duty on the building, and jumped for the second assault. Steeplejack used his torch-gun to keep Cage on the run until he made an asbestos shield for himself. Nevertheless, Steeplejack damaged the floor under him. During the fight, they damaged a bad-quality girder and Jake, like his brothers before him, fell several stories to the floor. His fuel tanks exploded due to the crash, and he died. Plumm, unimpressed, continued his usual business practices. However, Steeplejack's gear caught his attention, and he decided to use it himself, eventually becoming the second Steeplejack. Powers & Abilities Powers *'Peak Human Condition' **'Peak Human Strength' **'Peak Human Durability' Abilities *'Construction' *'Expert Inventor' *'Skilled Combatant' Paraphernalia Equipment A backpack with fuel for his torch. It was connected to it through a hose he could also use to strangulate enemies. Weapons A rivet submachine gun that shot red hot rivets. It could also be used as a long-range torch, able to melt steel in minutes time at thirty feet. Trivia *Jake's brothers went unnamed in the mainstream universe. Category:Characters Category:Humans Category:Americans Category:Neutral Characters Category:Secret Identity Category:Single Characters Category:Males Category:Black Eyes Category:Brown Hair Category:Earth-7045 Category:Earth-7045 Characters Category:Deceased Category:Created by Trachodon56 Category:Villains of Earth-7045 Category:Engineers Category:Peak Human Condition Category:Inventors Category:Expert Combatant Category:Gun Wielders Category:Technology Allows Powers Category:Fire Blasts Category:Heroic Age (Marvel 2099) Characters Category:Death in Combat Category:Death by Accident Category:Versions of Steeplejack